New Kobo e-Reader to Have a Wacom Display

Sony was legendary in the e-reader business because the vast majority of their e-readers had touchscreen displays and came with a stylus. This appealed not only to casual readers, but people who needed to make highlights and annotations with pinpoint precision. Now that Sony has exited the consumer sector, there is now a void to be filled, and Kobo is aiming to rise to the challenge.

When Kobo starts to design their next generation e-readers, the logistics and manufacturing is actually done by one of their longstanding partners, Netronix. Back in August Netronix was demoing a new e-reader at a tradeshow and showed off a new touchscreen device utilizing Wacom technology. What was most interesting was that the shell containing the new screen was the Kobo Aura HD, which is 6.8 inches and very distinctive.

Wamcom is well known in the industry for making digital pens and touchscreen displays that are often selected by artists. When I worked in the game development industry, almost everyone involved with creating 2D or 3D art, was normally using a stylus. Many of the leading comic book artists, whether they are making print or web-comics also swear by Wacom.

I have heard various rumors coming out of Taiwan that the new Kobo Aura HD will be using a specialized version of Wacam called “WILL.” The Wacom Ink Layer Language (WILL) is an universal inking engine and ink layer framework which connects hardware, software and applications. WILL is a technology that enables high quality digital pen and ink experience. Likely, Kobo will be employing the WILL SDK for its Linux based operating system and integrate it into their reading app and note taking apps.

What I think Kobo is hoping to accomplish is to make a consumer version of the Sony Digital Paper. The DPT-S1 is 13.3 inches and is legendary for its lightweight nature and stylus integration for editing PDF files. It is very expensive, normally retailing for $999.99. I think Kobo really wants to make a 6.8 inch variant and aim it their existing customer base and hopefully give old Sony e-Reader owners a reason to upgrade.

Michael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and Verge.

Yeah, the demo I saw was SUPER responsive, which is what people need who are drawing or using it to take notes

Thankyou

6.8″ aka aura hd wacom edition? how about 6″ aura version????

pricing?

annotation only on pdf? epub doesn’t do well with freehand i think

thx!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mitch Gusat

Thanks for rediscovering the pen input!
By using finger-/paw-driven touchscreens, S. Jobs made it possible for babies, toddlers, primates, even cats to ‘use’ an iPhone… He has also successfully reversed 2.7M yrs of human evolution (to tools) – too easily abandoned in favor of our greasy sausage-like fingers fumbling over 500+ DPI screens 🙂

Size matters. Also for screens…
10-14″ arguably is the optimal diagonal size range for notes taking (e.g., OneNote), drawing/sketching (notepad size), and PDF reading (column-based papers, mags and journals – actually 14″ is too small for most such apps).
One can try inking on the plethora of 8″ tablets with active digitizers; too small for a 2-handed activity, proper palm rejection etc.
Additonally, one needs more power and CPU for active digitizer (AD) apps – than the usually frugal 6″ e-reader.

I salute both Sony and Kobo for bringing the AD back to readers/writers/artists and professionals in general.

Ouroboros

I waiting a 13.3 e-reader like DPT-S1, and i hope Kobo make it.
But I think this device can be improved with a physical keyboard (like tablet). For students, researchers and others, it become a powerfull tool (note device, reader (PDF, txt, Epub, doc, xls…), text editor, drawing…).
For the price, I don’t understand why tablet are under 500$ and e-reader like DPT-S1 cost 900$. E-ink technology is so expensive?
(English isn’t my first language, so please excuse any mistakes)
Best regards.